How to Use BY

How to use BY

BY can be a preposition and an adverb. 

• They lived in a small house by the road. (preposition).   
• Clive was passing by the department store. (adverb)

Here are 10 different uses of BY:

• By as a means of transport
• By to show how something is done
• By to show how something happens
• By with adjectives
• By with time expressions
• By meaning “next to”
• By with gerund
• By for measurements and amounts
• By with reflexive pronoun
• By with passive

By as a means of transport

We can use BY to say how people travel.

• People in London usually commute by train.
• Shall we go by car or by bus?
• They went to America by sea.

By to show how something is done

• Can I pay by credit card?
• We’ll contact you by email.
• Would you send us the proposal by fax?

By to show how something happens

• I met my high school teacher by accident.
• Sorry, I took your phone by mistake.
• Stuart became a musician by chance.

By with adjectives

• Sara was impressed by the sheer size of the temple.
• He was delighted by the news.
• Everybody in the courtroom was shocked by the evidence.

By with time expressions

We can use BY with a time expression such as tomorrow, next week/month, etc. for deadlines.

• I’m supposed to finish this report by Monday.
• Milly, make sure you get home by 10.
• We’re going away on Friday and we’ll be back by the end of February.

By meaning “next to”

• Your bag is in the hall by the door.
• Michael was standing by his wife in the picture.
• There is a nice Italian restaurant by the river.

By with gerund

We can use by with a gerund to say how something is done.

• He makes a living by working in an office.
• You can get fit by doing exercise regularly.
• Mira wants to broaden her horizons by travelling.

By for measurements and amounts

We can use by to talk about measurements and amounts.

• My room is four meters by five meters.
• These people are paid by the hour.
• The price of oil increased by 3%.

By with a reflexive pronoun

We can use by with the reflexive pronoun meaning “alone”.

• I prepared the party all by myself.
• You shouldn’t be walking by yourself at night. I’ll give you a lift.
• They spent all weekend by themselves.

By with passive

We use by in passive sentences to say who is the doer of the action.

• The book was written by James Joyce.
• The theatre was opened by the president himself.
• The photo was taken by our famous photographer.

Let me take your English to the next level. If you feel that you are not making much progress with your English or as quickly as your academic or professional requirements demand, how about trying my reasonably-priced one-to-one English lessons that I can tailor to whatever needs you may have like sitting forthcoming English certification exams, or taking part in business meetings with your international colleagues, or passing your job interview in English. Book an online English lesson with me or one of my fellow certified and experienced English teachers, and see for yourself. You won’t feel let down because we are going to make sure that you have a good run for the money you are investing in your linguistic education. Waste no time and take a trial test for only 1 euro.

Book a trial lesson